Islamic Blog dealing with religious and worldly issues faced by the Muslims.

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Sunday, 12 October 2014

The Greatest Casualty of 9/11 (2)

In part (1) of this article we have seen that there
was every likelihood for Pakistan after conducting nuclear tests in 1998 to
assume a leadership role among the Muslim nations. But, in the aftermath of
9/11 event, Musharraf regime’s short sightedness dragged Pakistan into so
called war of terror and provided India with secured and peaceful borders.
Consequently, on the one hand, Pakistan was held back from assuming the
leadership role among the Muslim nations, and, on the other hand, India, by
developing its economy, was allowed to grow into a hurdle in Pakistan’s way of
assuming leadership role among the Muslim nations.

Now that USA is leaving Afghanistan and Taliban
suicidal attacks have subsided in Pakistan to a great extent, Pakistan may have
space, on the one hand, to revise its policy viz a viz India and reinforce, on
the other hand, its efforts to enhance its political and military ties with the
Muslim nations. Luckily, in the backdrop of new regional and world scenario
linked with China emerging as new world power, Pakistan’s geo-strategic
importance offers it new prospects to assume role of regional leadership.
Pakistan, due to its geo-strategic position, may become a linchpin of new
Economic and Political Alliance consisting of Afghanistan, CIS, China and Gulf
States; Gawadar Port may act as economic vanguard in fabricating such an
alliance. Such a pivotal position attained by Pakistan in such a strategically
important alliance would add to Pakistan’s strategic importance viz a viz India
in the eyes of Muslim nations and pave the way to Pakistan’s leadership role
among the Muslim nations (for details plz see my articles “Muslim Millat” and Pakistan's Role in Ensuing Decade" and "Pak-Iran Gas and Gawadar Port Projects".

As for as India concerned, Pakistan may take all
necessary steps to convince India to solve Kashmir dispute peacefully. But, if
India does not come to terms, Pakistan may employ the strategy of making India
a bad destination for foreign investment. For the purpose, whole India may be
converted into a country marred with internal battlegrounds like India had
developed internal battlegrounds in Pakistan. Kashmiri freedom movement may be
supported not only morally but also militarily. Pakistan is a legal party to
this Kashmir dispute; Pakistan has every legal right not to allow the other
party i.e. India to change situation in Kashmir in India’s favor.

The logic of engaging India militarily in Kashmir is
usually rejected with a counter logic that first Pakistan should strengthen its
economy and then take effective steps to force India out of Kashmir. Such a
counter logic is not tenable when assessed in the light of fact that both
states are nuclear powers; Pakistan, using its economic clout,can never force India out of Kashmir;
nuclear power of a state can never be undone by using economic power. It is
true USSR was disintegrated under economic pressures but those pressures were
built through military might by western powers. Any world economic power
lacking in military might could never build such economic pressures; Japan
could never break up USSR, despite all the economic might it had.

A state may build up its power through combining its
military, economic and political influences. History tells us that military and
political power always leads to economic power as well. After the Second World
War, USA’s military and political power was the supreme but its economic power (though world's largest)
was much lesser than its military and political power. The USA's per capita income in 1945 was above $10,000 which grew to $40,000 in 2008 (inflation adjusted). Using its military and
political power, USA gradually developed into present economic might. Similarly
economic power may also be translated into military and political power.But conversion of political and military
power into economic power is much shorter process than the process of
conversion of economic power into political and military power. Pakistan has
been blessed with opportunity to convert its political and military power into
economic power through forging regional Economic and Political Alliance.What Pakistan requires is to focus on
formation of regional Economic and Political Alliances and to put military
pressure on India simultaneously.

We may conclude that it is high time for Pakistan to
revise its Indian and regional policy as well as to step up efforts to forge
close military and political ties with Muslim nations. It is the only way to
undo the impact of wrong policies pursued in the past.